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Fall 2001

A la recherche de la pureté': Colette on Women Writers

Tama L. Engelking Cleveland State University, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Tama L. Engelking. (2001). 'A la recherche de la pureté': Colette on Women Writers. Atlantis: A Women's Studies Journal/Revue d'études sur les femmes, 26(1), 3-12.

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. "A la recherche de la purete": Colette on Women Writer s

Tama Lea Engelking

ABSTRACT "Purete" is a key, if ambiguous, concep t in Colette's work tha t provides insight s int o her ambivalent attitud e toward the writing profession in general, and the rol e of the woma n write r in particular. Colett e links purity an d poetry in her characterization of Sido a s a pure poet, an d in her assessment of two other poets: Helen e Picard, whose work exemplifies pure poetry, and Renee Vivien, the impur e poet whose portrai t is included in Le Pur et I'impw (1932). Thi s study shows how Colette manipulates the concepts of pure an d impure in order to highlight her difference from other women writers a s she forge s a new an d positive identity for herself as a prose writer. RESUME "La "puret6" es t un concept vital, mai s ambigu , dans l'oeuvr e d e Colette qui peut elucider son attitude ambivalente envers le metier d e l'ecrivain en general, et surtout le role de la femme-ecrivain. Colette relie la purete et la po£sie quan d elle caracterise Sido comme u n "poete pur, " et dans son evaluation de deux autres poetes : H&ene Picard, dont l'oeuvre exemplifi e la poesie pure, et Renee Vivien, le poete "impur" dont le portrait figur e dans Le Pur et I'impur (1932). Cette £tude demontr e comment Colette manipule les concepts d u "pur" e t de "I'impur " enfin de se distinguer des autre s femmes-ecrivains , tandis qu'elle se forge une nouvelle identite positive comm e prosateur.

The first part of my title, borrowed from a de puret e dan s le s transparences qu i l'evoquent, chapter in Anne Ketchum's book on Colette, can be dans le s bulles , l'ea u massive , e t le s site s read i n two ways - a s Colette' s ow n search for imaginaires retranches, hor s d'atteinte, a u sein d'un "pureti" which critic s generally relate t o the lost epais cristal" (3: 653). paradise of her youth, and particularly to her mother My ow n "recherche d e la purete" wil l Sido, and as the searching literary critics do as we concentrate o n how Colette applie s "l e pur" to look through the volumes of Colette's work in order women writers by examining what she wrote abou t to construct a coherent meaning around the concept Hilene Picard and Renie Vivien, two women poets of "pureti." In either case, "pur," "purete," andtheir who see m to epitomize, respectively, the pure and opposites are key words that critics frequently focus the impur e for her. Moreover, by linking "l e pur" on i n an effort t o understand Colette' s notions of specifically with poetry, as Colette herself does, we sexuality, writing, and the relation between the two. can focu s th e elusive play of pure an d impure in They are , as Jacob Stockinge r puts it, "imprecise Colette's crystal ball, and throw some light on her concepts that provide a constant in Colette's ethical attitude towar d women writin g an d the curiously and esthetic visions from the early Claudine novels negative attitud e sh e demonstrate d toward s he r to th e ambitiou s Le Pur et I'impur wher e th e profession a s a woma n writer . Elain e Mark s ambiguities of such moralist terminology generate contends that attempts to situate Colette in relation an entire system of narration, character, event s and to her generation of French women writers usually images" (360) . Le t m e underlin e th e wor d fail becaus e sh e elude s th e habitua l categories , "imprecise" here and refer to the final paragraph of remaining on the margins, crossing or slipping in Le Pur et I'impur wher e th e narrator, "Madam e and out of categories suc h as gender, socia l class, Colette," after having given innumerable examples urban/rural, learned/popula r cultur e an d literary of the impure , admits to her readers that "pur" has genres ("Celebrating Colette" ix). Colette's notions not yielde d a n intelligibl e meanin g t o her . She of th e pur e an d impur e provid e ye t anothe r closes that book with a n evocative description of ambiguous pairing, but when specifically applied to the sound s of the wor d "pur," an d the images of her idea s o n poetry , the y nevertheles s yiel d clearness - crystal, water, bubble s - she associates important insight s int o th e new identity of prose with it. "Je n'en suis qu'a etancher un e soif optique writer sh e was forging for herself by highlighting her difference from othe r women writers. work wa s matche d b y a genera l refusa l t o writ e Colette is famous fo r her reticence t o talk criticism abou t the wor k of other femal e authors , about her own writing, an attitude that went hand in she was known to write to and about the numerou s hand with her general resistance to the connotation s women writer s sh e kne w in a variety of differen t associated wit h th e rol e o f woma n writer . Sh e contexts - correspondence, memoirs , lectures , an d repeatedly denie d an y callin g fo r thi s joyles s journal articles . I f no t exactl y criticism , he r vocation forced on her by necessity, an d when th e comments dra w a clea r distinctio n betwee n th e Royal Belgia n Academy of French Language an d women poet s sh e knew , an d he r ow n caree r a s a Literature elected her a member in 1936, she began professional pros e writer , that we ca n interpret i n her acceptanc e speec h b y expressin g he r light of her notions of pure poetry and the pure poet. astonishment a t findin g herself a writer : "J e sui s Two text s ar e especiall y enlightenin g i n thi s devenue ecrivai n san s m'e n apercevoir...j e respect. Th e firs t i s a n articl e Colett e wrot e t o m'etonnais encor e que Ton m'appelat ecrivain, qu'un commemorate th e poe t rlilene Picard, which was iditeur et un public me traitassent en icrivain..." (3: later reprinted in L Etoile vesper and their published 1079). Near the end of her life, after more than sixty correspondence; th e secon d i s Colette' s famou s titles, numerous awards, and worldwide recognition portrait of the Sapphi c poet Renee Vivien found in for her work, she grudgingly accepted writing as a Le Pur et I'impur (1932). habit tha t wa s impossibl e t o break . I t wa s onl y Before w e tur n t o Colette' s opinio n of when she finally found herself a famous old woman these two published poets, I want to examine a few who could at last write for her own pleasure - that key passages in which Colette associates purity with is, without the intention of actually publishing what poetry. Th e mos t importan t i s foun d i n La she wrote - that she allowed herself to feel some joy Naissance du jour, written in 1928, the sam e year in the ar t she had cultivated for over half a century. she published her pamphlet on Renie Vivien which Colette's attitud e abou t writin g wa s she later incorporated int o Le Pur et I'impur. In La decidedly anti-intellectual , an d sh e produce d a Naissance du jour Colett e evokes her mother Sido sensual pros e tha t Anne Ketchum characterizes a s as a pure poet who provides the mode l which her de-intellectual in that she restored writing to life by coarse an d impur e daughte r ca n onl y poorl y awakening th e body , sensualit y an d sensua l imitate:1 enjoyment from inerti a and indifferenc e ("Colett e and the Enterprise of Writing" 22). Colette laid no Que j e lu i reVele , a mo n tou r savante , claim to a system of thought o r to a methodology , combien je suis son impure survivance, sa rejected th e suggestio n o f reducin g he r wor k t o grossiere image, sa servante fidele chargee "iddes recues," an d insisted that "ideis generates" de basse s besognes ! Ell e m' a donne " l e suited he r badly. "I I y a trois parures qui me von t jour, e t la mission de poursuivre c e qu'e n tres mal : le s chapeau x empanach6s , le s idee s poete elle saisit et abandonna, comm e on g&iirales e t le s boucles d'oreille" ("La Poisie que s'empare d'u n fragment d e meUodi e j'aime" 577) . More than on e reporte r wen t awa y flottante, e n voyage dans l'espace... . disappointed a t being deprived of insights into th e (3: 290-91) workings of this woman of letters who refused t o call herself one, and who claimed no special method Colette's impurity emerges, for example, when sh e to her writing. One of her "Dialogue s a une voix " gives i n to th e temptatio n t o touc h th e butterfly' s entitled "Interview" says it best by saying nothing at wing agains t he r mother' s advice. Sh e marvel s a t all. Commenting on the silence of the interviewee , her mother's abstention an d links it with the purity the journalist exclaims: "Comment, vous n'avez pas she lacks. ouvert la bouche? Ah! qu e c'est femme, c e mot-la, que c'es t femme! mais rien que dans ce mot-la, il y A n'en pas douter, ma mere savait, elle qui a cent lignes de psychologie!... La femme, n'est-ell e n'apprit rien , comme ell e disait 'qu'e n s e pas tout e dans ce qu'elle tait"? (Mille et un matins briilant,' ell e savai t qu'o n possed e dan s 247-48). l'abstention, e t seulemen t dan s Although Colette' s silence about her own l'abstention. Abstention, consommation, le peche n'est guere plus lourd ici que la. what we know about Colette' s own writing habits. (3: 290 ) Her correspondenc e i s ful l o f reference s t o th e rather painful act of writing, sitting not in a garden, The daughter' s guilt y indulgenc e stand s i n shar p but alway s at her desk , usually with a deadline to contrast t o he r mother' s purit y whic h Colett e meet, an d complainin g al l th e whil e o f th e characterizes a s "Puret e d e ceu x qu i n'on t pa s wonderful pleasure s of life she is missing. Writing commis d'effraction! " (3 : 290). More importantly to he r frien d HeTen e Picar d i n 1933 , Colett e for m y argument , sh e relate s he r own impurity to complains about making no headway on her lates t what she calls the menial task of writing . project and adds wistfully, "Avec quelle joie je m'y Colette approached writing like a tedious risignerais, sL.j'avai s de quo i vivre . Vivr e san s domestic tas k tha t require s patienc e rathe r tha n ecrire, 6 merveille! " (Lettres 164 ; Ellipsi s i n inspiration. Bu t whil e he r domesti c ar t le d t o original). Real writing, she implies, the kind you d o published books and a literary career, the "poetry " for a living , i s neither natura l no r fun ; i t i s hard of he r mothe r i s unwritten, impossible , and thu s work forced on her by economic necessity, and, as remains pure , o r a s Lynn e Huffe r put s it , "i t i s we will see , it is inherently impure. precisely in her inability to name that Sido retains The natura l worl d tha t comprised Sido's what Colett e calls her 'purity'" (33). Elaine Harris kingdom i s th e real m o f pur e poetry . Colett e goes eve n furthe r i n he r stud y o f sensualit y i n highlights this relationship in another text titled "L e Colette's work, calling Sid o "un double de Colette Poete" include d in Journal a rebours, wher e sh e incarnant le 'pur' dans la polarite pur/impur" which tells the story of a child poet in what one critic calls Harris later relates to "silence/parole" (14). Thi s last "the most serious statement on 'Art' t o be found in pairing i s a variatio n o n th e "consommatio n Colette's works " (Makwar d 186) . Th e narrato r /abstention" distinctio n Colette introduce s i n La inadvertently come s acros s a youn g bo y name d Naissance du jour an d extends in Le Pur et I'impur, Tonin who m she see s babbling and gesticulating the implications of which will become clearer in our near a brook. Although th e strea m drown s out his discussion of that key work. voice, she imagines that he is creating pure poetr y In he r astut e reading of La Naissance du inspired b y th e rhythm s o f natur e herself : jour, Huffe r see s Sid o a s a devic e t o translat e "Poete-enfant, jugeai-je . Sensibilit y lyrism e qu'un Colette's anxiety at the prospect of writing. Colette entourage effarouche... . Solitaire , exalte, Tonin s e prepares th e way to becoming her mother's literary donnait tout entier a la mission du poete: oublier la successor b y puttin g a n oddl y feminin e twis t o n rialite, promettr e a u monde de s prodiges, chante r Bloom's "anxiety of influence." Instead of asserting les victoires et nier la mort" {Journal a rebours 31, her superiorit y ove r th e poeti c skill s o f he r 36). Th e chil d poe t i s linke d t o nature , th e los t predecessor an d model , sh e denigrate s he r ow n paradise Colette enjoyed in the pre-writing days of literary achievements . "Madam e Colette, " th e innocence she associates with Sido . narrator of this text, admits, for example, that it is This description of the pure child poet is her mother who is by far the better writer, and yet reinforced in a chapter from La Maison de Claudine the daughter becomes, in effect, the translator of the called "L e Curi su r l e mur, " wher e w e find th e pure materna l discourse , wh o invent s wha t he r young Colett e embroiderin g a whol e worl d o f mother would have said to her (Huffer 34-35). An d meaning aroun d th e wor d "presbytere " withou t it i s Colette who must deciphe r her mother's final understanding wha t the word denotes. Joa n Hinde letter, written in an incoherent confusion of joyfu l Stewart reads this crucial chapter as a parable of th e symbols tha t sh e call s "un alphabe t nouveau " (3: writer's genesi s an d argue s tha t i t "illustrate s th e 371). Wha t Colette gains through losing her purity primordial rol e o f languag e i n organizin g an d is precisel y the authorit y to write, as pur e silence possessing th e world , an d suggest s a privilege d gives way to impure "parole." relation with words " (266). Stewar t characterize s But Sid o was, in fact, a prolific and natural the child's world a s one without boundaries wher e writer. Colette's loving descriptions of her mothe r words "ar e material , tactile , voluptuous , an d composing letters in the middle of her garden with mutable" (267). Much lik e Colette's invocation of a dictionary on her knees stan d in stark contrast to the wor d "pur " wit h whic h I bega n thi s investigation, languag e i s a t it s pures t whe n i t is Picard confine d to he r Pari s apartment . Th e tw o closest t o th e materia l and sensation , an d farthes t women had much in common: they wer e the same from th e code s an d boundarie s impose d o n th e age, came from similar provincial backgrounds, and written word. shared a love of animals an d good food . Despite Colette's oft-quoted statemen t about ho w Picard's earl y success s a s a poet, by th e tim e sh e she fel t n o callin g t o b e a writer makes thi s pur e met Colette , she wa s scramblin g to mak e a livin g relationship with language clear. An avid reader, the with her writing and could barely make ends meet. young Colett e fel t revolte d b y th e gestur e o f Colette took her friend under her wing and used her encoding her ideas and sensations int o writing, and influence t o hel p promot e Picard' s career , for a lon g time sh e resiste d learnin g t o write . In eventually commissionin g a nove l fo r he r fact, sh e unequivocally states that she felt born not "Collection Colette." When Picard died in 1945, a to write: close friend console d Colett e o n he r los s b y comparing Helen e Picar d t o Sido : "L'existenc e Mais dan s m a jeunesse , j e n'a i jamais , d'Hilene repr£sentait pour vous, chere Colette, une jamais desire " ecrire. Non, je n e m e sui s n^cessite profond e - comme cell e de 'Sido. ' C'es t pas levi e la nuit e n cachett e pour ecrir e pourquoi Helen e e t Sid o vou s furen t donnies " des ver s au crayon sur le couvercle d'une (Lettres 229). boite a chaussures! Non, je n'ai pas jet£ au Colette's notio n of pure poetr y provide s vent d'ouest et au clair de lune des parole s another obviou s lin k betwee n Picar d an d Sido . inspirees!... Ca r je sentais , chaqu e jou r Written shortl y afte r Picard' s deat h i n 1945 , mieux, je sentais que j'etais justement fait e Colette's tribute to her friend reads like a defense of pour n e pas 6crire... . Aucun e voi x Picard's purity and opens with an image reminiscent n'emprunta l e son du vent pour me glisser of th e final word s i n Le Pur et I'impur quote d avec un petit souffle froid, dans l'oreille, le earlier: "Un e vie aussi pure qu e l a sienne n e peut conseil d'icrire , e t d'icrir e encore , d e manquer de paraitre mysterieuse. II n'est pas aisi d e ternir, e n ecrivant , m a bondissant e o u lire atravers la sphere de cristal" (Lettres 11). What tranquille perceptio n d e l'univer s vivant. she see s in her crysta l ball i s a poet whos e purity (Journal a rebours 145-46 ; Emphasis in echoes Sido' s in many respects . Althoug h Colette original) never explicitly compares th e two, it is implied in the imager y sh e use s to describ e Picar d an d he r It was not until the day when necessity put a pen in poetry. Muc h lik e Sid o in La Naissance du jour, her hand, that, she continues, "J e compris qu'il m e who i s up a t the dawn' s blu e light , the pocket s of faudrait chaqu e jour, lentement, docilemen t gcrire, her blu e apro n fille d wit h grai n to fee d th e fowl , patiemment concilie r le son et le nombre, me lever Picard i s a n urbanize d Sid o who als o greet s th e t6t pa r preference , m e couche r tar d pa r devoi r dawn to feed the birds, her blue pet parakeets, tha t (147)." I n othe r words , lik e tha t of Sido and th e is, fro m th e to p floo r o f he r smal l Parisia n child poet , Colette's relationship to the worl d wa s apartment on the rue d'Alleray. Colette mentions the untarnished unti l sh e wa s oblige d to translat e he r blue colo r o f Picard' s bird s an d he r apartmen t impressions into writing. several times , an d he r abundan t us e o f natur e Colette's stories of coming to writing show imagery enhances the compariso n between Picar d her slipping farther an d farther awa y from the ideal and the earth mother, Sido. "Autour d'elle, les traces realm of pure poetry in pursuit of a writing career . de la po&ique abondance voltigeaient . Une de se s The two, it seems, canno t b e reconciled, with th e matin£es suffisait , souvent , a ensemence r l a notable exceptio n o f Hellen e Picard, a poe t wh o chambre bleue" (13). Picard's poems fly around the managed t o remain pure in Colette's eyes despite a room, she sows her apartment with them; her poems number o f publishe d book s an d severa l literar y appear to blossom, to ripen in the sunlight , and to prizes.2 Colette and Helene Picard first met in 192 1 hatch open at the right moment. Her handwriting is when both of them were writing for Le Matin, and organic, compared to "antennes aigues," and "partes they maintaine d a clos e friendshi p an d d'insecte." correspondence even after a debilitating illness kept Like Sid o snatchin g a momen t i n he r garden to pen a letter, Picard writes poems here and she stressed the differences separatin g her from the there, o n an y od d bi t o f pape r sh e ca n find , stereotype o f the facile woman writer on more than abandoning a poem in mid-verse to answer the call one occasion. In MesApprentissages, sh e compare s of her pet birds, or to stir the chocolate. "Quel beau the craft she learned from Willy to the sweeping up dedain, que l orgueil , quell e modestie....Ell e of crumb s an d th e assemblin g o f broken pieces . enveloppait, d'u n poem e a peine sdche \ l a part du Referring to Willy's habit of locking her in her room gateau, l e triangle de fromage montagnard plus dur to write, she explains "C'est a elle que je dois mon qu'une tuile , qu'ell e glissai t dan s mon sac " (13) . art le plus certain, qui n'est pas celui d'ecrire, mais And when Colette asks her if she has at least kept a l'art domestique d e savoir attendre, dissimuler, de copy, she replies, "Eh non! J'en ferai d'autres!" (13). ramasser des miettes, reconstruire, recoller, redorer, Helene Picard is, according to Colette, one of those changer e n mieux-alle r l e pis-aller , perdr e e t privileged fe w wh o ar e bor n t o write , an d he r regagner dan s le meme instan t l e gou t frivol e d e profuse poetry contrasts dramatically with Colette's vivre" (3 : 1032) . I n Pres de Colette, Mauric e own painfull y discipline d prose , a distinction sh e Goudeket confirms that Colette approached her ar t highlights by adding " J'admirais cette d6sordonnee, like a tas k wit h "toute s le s vertu s d e l'artisa n cette riche, avec u n imerveillemen t de prosatric e francais, l'humilite , la patience, l'exigenc e enver s 6conome..." (13). soi, l e gout d e l'ouvrag e achevi, " adding that sh e Colette make s a poin t of separatin g he r found the word "inspiration" to be among the mos t prose writin g fro m women' s poetr y i n a 193 8 suspect of the French language (21) . lecture entitle d "La PoSsie que j'aime" where sh e If Colett e aspire d t o separat e he r ow n calls herself a sort of monster, "u n prosateur qu i n'a writing from the feminine lyricism, then sh e coul d jamais dcri t d e vers " (577) . Despit e th e lecture' s only justify he r admiratio n fo r Picard's poetry b y title, Colett e i s primaril y concerne d her e wit h insisting o n it s purit y throug h comparison s wit h distancing herself from the genr e often associate d Sido, the model of the pur e poet. Picard's poverty, with "natural" and "spontaneous" women poets such her indifferenc e t o materia l success , an d he r as he r goo d friend s Helen e Picar d an d Ann a d e closeness t o th e natura l worl d ar e al l importan t Noailles. Moreover, she insists that it required strict elements i n Colette' s positiv e assessmen t o f he r diligence on her part not to let an alexandrine sli p friend's literar y talent. Thes e sam e elements clas h into he r pros e fo r fea r o f becoming "u n mauvai s dramatically wit h th e portrai t sh e paint s o f th e poete dichain6 " (581) . Thi s echoe s th e critica l neurotic and artificial poet Rende Vivien in Le Pur assessment o f Anna d e Noailles , th e best-know n et I'impur. Wit h Picard , a s wit h Sido , Colette' s woman poet of her generation, who was viewed as differences from these women place her squarely on an undisciplined and essentially inspired writer, a the side of impurity. The Vivien portrait, however, 3 view that Noailles herself often reinforced. When represents an impure image of the femme de lettres Colette asks Anna de Noailles if she intends to write against whose dark image Colette appears in a purer more novels , fo r example , th e poe t respond s light. The terms remain vague, and neither of them "Jamais! Pourquoi me servirais-je d'un language ou adequately define s Colett e as a writer; rather, th e je n e pourrai s pa s tou t dire? " (582) . Colett e Picard and Vivien pieces put Colette in perspective describes Noailles ' reactio n a s a n "hommag e by showin g her reader s how sh e differ s fro m th e rendu...a l a libert y d u poeme , a se s immuniui s two writer s representin g th e extreme s o f th e multiples, au noble usage qu'il a le droit de faire de pure-impure spectrum . Tha t is , sh e "proceed s b y toutes licences " ("L a Poisi e qu e j'aime " 582) . negation" t o defin e he r positio n b y tellin g he r Colette, who is searching for the authority t o write readers what she is not. 4 without havin g he r effort s reduce d t o th e Colette's portrai t o f Vivie n bega n a s a patronizing epitaph of "feminine," distinguishes her nine-page pamphlet written for the Amis d'Edouard writing fro m bot h th e pur e poetr y o f Sido, which series publishe d i n 1928 , a landmar k yea r fo r she idealizes, and the so-called feminine lyricism of lesbian writing that may have influence d Colette's the best-known women poets of her day. decision to write about th e sapphi c poe t wh o ha d Colette viewed her craf t quit e differentl y died two decade s earlier a t the ag e of 32. Colette from the public perception of feminine writing, and later adde d materia l t o th e portrait , essentiall y rewriting i t to be incorporate d int o Cesplaisirs,.., she als o studied classical Greek s o that sh e could (1932) whose title she changed to Le Pur et I'impur translate Sappho' s poetr y int o French . Muc h o f in 1941 . This book, which she believed would one Vivien's ow n poetr y i s inspire d by Sappho , an d day b e considere d he r bes t work , i s a serie s o f although critic s objecte d t o muc h o f Vivien' s portraits and anecdotes treating a wide spectrum of subject matter , the y praise d he r verse s fo r thei r sexual behaviors . Th e topi c obviousl y shift s th e "purity."5 Th e tw o writer s gre w close r afte r pure-impure discours e into another domain already Colette's separatio n fro m Will y i n 1906 , whe n alluded t o i n La Naissance du jour wher e th e Colette rente d a n apartmen t sharin g a courtyar d "pur/impur" pairin g i s linke d t o with Vivien's . Thes e wer e Colette' s scandalou s "abstention/consommation." I t i s a curiou s book , music hall years, when sh e danced half-naked an d narrated b y "Madam e Colette, " a journalist wh o exchanged a shocking on-stage kiss with Missy. But tries t o maintai n a n objectiv e narrativ e stanc e it is as an older, more "respectable" an d established despite he r obviou s resemblanc e t o an d writer, who has put her own notorious past behind identification wit h th e character , Charlotte . her, that she writes about Vivien. Comparing hersel f t o a spectato r whos e choic e In the shorte r 192 8 version of her Vivie n ringside seat allows easy access to the stage in case portrait, Colette' s reminiscence s abou t the Britis h she decides to join the performers, th e narrator als o expatriate poet are rather touching, and she plays up insists o n th e specia l qualit y o f he r the positiv e - Vivien' s dimple d smile , laughin g "hermaphrodisme mental " which permits her to se e mouth and gentle eyes . Colette never mentions he r with th e eye s of a woman an d t o writ e with "un e lesbianism, but whe n sh e rewrot e th e portrai t fo r courte e t dure main d e jardinier" (3 : 589) . Onc e inclusion in Le Pur et I'impur (1932), the materia l again Colette is on the margin, evading definitions added was generally negative, depictin g Vivien a s as she slips in and out of set categories . a neurotic , oversexe d an d tragi c figur e whos e Colette's own ambiguous sexualit y is not lifestyle Colett e finds frankl y offensive . Sh e no t being stage d here , althoug h he r earlie r lesbia n only reject s Vivien a s a sor t of lesbian Don Juan experiences linge r like a shadowy presenc e in the whose indiscretio n i s shocking , bu t Colett e i s wings. A s Elain e Mark s ha s noted , "Le Pur et completely revolted by the stiflin g decadent decor I'impur restates all the form s of lesbianism and all of he r apartment , th e strang e exoti c foo d Vivie n the narrative commentary on women loving women serves and the thinness of the anorexic poet herself, that appear in Colette's text s from 190 0 to 1932 " whom Colette describes a s starving for ten days s o ("Lesbian Intertextuality" 365) . Marks argues that that sh e coul d fit int o he r costum e fo r a tableau "it is as if the narrato r wer e testing herself agains t vivant depicting the executio n of Lady Jane Grey. the portrait s o f these women in order to determin e Colette's accoun t o f Vivien's close d apartmen t i s whether o r no t sh e wa s a lesbian , i n orde r t o often quoted , but perhaps the image that leaves th e determine th e limit s of her understandin g an d he r most lastin g impression on Colette's readers is her compassion" ("Lesbia n Intertextuality " 367) . description of Vivien a s a condemne d Lad y Jan e Colette's portrai t o f Renee Vivie n i s onl y on e of Grey, especially when we know that Vivien was to several lesbia n portrait s include d i n Le Pur et die only a few years later of an illness complicated I'impur, but it is by far the leas t sympathetic in that by the anorexia, alcoholism and drug abuse alluded it not only allows Colette to test herself against a to in this portrait: lesbian, but also against another femme de lettres, as she checks off the traits that do not apply to her. Elle itai t tre s jolie dan s so n costume , Colette firs t met th e Britis h poe t aroun d fardie, l'orbit e creuse , le s cheveu x libre s 1902, about the sam e time a n inheritanc e allowed sur un e ipaule , e t gai e ave c egarement . Vivien to leave England and settl e permanently i n Elle eu t encor e l a forc e d e figurer Jan e Paris. Vivien, whos e rea l name was Pauline Tarn, Grey, le s main s li£es , l a nuque blanche , had bee n largel y educate d a t Frenc h boardin g versant su r l e billo t u n flo t d e cheveu x schools. At a young age sh e had decided on French blonds, avan t d e tombe r su r l a scene , as her literary language of choice, and on poetry a s derriere la toile de fond, en proie aux plus her calling . A serious studen t of French prosody, tristes et aux plus violentes manifestation s d'un empoisonnemen t d'alcool , aggrav e characterizing Colette' s perceptio n o f he r par l'inanition et quelque 'doping'.... relationship to Sido. (3: 604 ; Ellipsis in original) The period in which Colette composed Le Pur et I'impur coincide s with a flurr y o f writing Colette sets Vivien u p a s a clear example around the topic of her mother, a subject she did not of th e impur e b y emphasizin g th e unhealth y an d approach until ten years after Sido' s death. Colette' s artificial qualities of the poet whom she describes a s work reveal s a n increasin g identificatio n with th e exhibiting an immodest consideration for '"les sens' woman sh e set s up a s he r mode l of purity a s sh e et la technique d u plaisir." Colette i s repulsed b y discovers both how much she is becoming like he r Vivien's thinnes s an d strongl y condemn s he r a s a mother and the full meaning of Sido's legacy to her. "Mme Combien-de-fois " for her frank sexua l talk In he r introductio n t o La Maison de Claudine, which included "comptant su r ses doigts, nommant Colette explains that the agin g process bring s he r choses e t geste s par leu r nom" (3: 607). I t i s no t closer to Sido: "la presence de celle qui, au lieu d e Vivien's sexual orientation that disturbs Colette here trouver dan s la mort un chemin pour s'eloigner , s e however, it is her indiscretion. In a text that is about fait mieu x connaitr e a mesure qu e je vieillis... . I I sexuality, th e autho r o f Le Pur et I'impur goes to n'est pa s di t qu e j'ai e ddcouver t tou t c e qu'ell e surprising lengths to say very little about it openly. deposa en moi" (2: 1090) . Harris takes Sido as th e As Elain e Marks ha s commented , "Th e narrato r central figure in Colette's writing, without which "le quite clearl y prefers , i n it s purity , th e unwritten , drame colettie n est inexplicable" (180), and argues 'half-spoken' women' s languag e o f l a Chevaliere that the Sid o created o r recreated b y Colette in La and he r grou p t o th e 'cynica l opinions ' an d th e Naissance du jour "incarn e l a perfectio n ver s sentimental imitativ e poetr y o f Rene e Vivien " laquelle ell e tend , Sid o es t e n quelqu e sort e l e ("Lesbian Intertextuality " 367) . Th e polarit y o f portrait qu e Colett e fait d'elle-meme mai s embelli opposites, impure/pure , speech/silence , pour ressemble r a c e qu'ell e aurai t voul u etre " consumption/abstention, i s clearl y a t wor k i n (182). I would argue further tha t this identification Colette's negative treatment of Vivien, who errs on is reformulate d i n Le Pur et I'impur wher e th e the sid e o f impurity , speec h an d consumption . discrete journalis t "Madam e Colette " hold s u p Colette, on the othe r hand, opt s for silence, as sh e Rende Vivie n a s th e mode l for wha t sh e doe s no t reproaches Vivie n fo r he r indiscretio n an d the n want to be because Vivien fall s on the impur e sid e prudishly refuse s t o repor t wha t sh e says . Wha t of eac h pairin g b y he r loos e tal k {parole) an d Colette doe s no t sa y i n thi s boo k i s thu s a s sensual appetit e for pleasure (consommation). significant as what she says. Sherry Dranch refers to Those familia r with Vivien's writing and Le Pur et I'impur as a "veiled" text, characterized by her biograph y migh t objec t tha t Colette's portrai t a censored style , ellipsis and metaphor i n which a does no t see m t o matc h th e woma n the y hav e "clearly-stated unsaid , o r mor e precisel y o f a n imagined - th e poe t wh o praise s chastit y i n he r 'inter-said [inter-dit: forbidden]' " provide s a verses an d whos e love r onc e complaine d tha t "unifying matri x fo r wha t appear s t o b e a Vivien wa s mor e arouse d b y poetr y tha n b y he r loosely-connected serie s o f stories " (177) . Wha t caresses. Colette appears guilty of creating another Dranch read s a s a n effectiv e stylisti c device als o of what Elaine Marks refers t o as "imaginary Rende serves to align Colette with the "pure " qualities sh e Viviens," corroborating, in effect, th e conclusion s so admire d i n he r mother . B y writing a boo k i n reached by the right-wing nationalist critic Charles which he r ow n sexualit y i s se t aside , an d silenc e Maurras, who als o classifie d Vivien a s "impure " becomes a major elemen t of her style, Colette opts because of her foreign origins, tainted romanticism for silenc e an d abstentio n ove r "parole " an d and th e "lesbia n risk" she an d othe r lesbia n poets "consommation." Elaine Harris's stylistic analysis of presented ('"Saph o 1900' " 186-87) . Colette' s Colette's novels brings her to the conclusion that "la agenda, however, is different from that of Maurras. grande qualit y d e l'ar t d e Colett e resid e dan s l a By wha t sh e say s and especially what sh e does not quality d e so n silence " (201) . Mor e importantly, say about the poet, Colette proceeds by negation t o Harris relates silence/parole t o the paired attributes condemn Vivie n a s impure , an d th e all-importan t of pur/impur an d abstention/consommation missing elemen t i s an y consideratio n o f Rene e Vivien a s a writer. She devotes th e majority of her can b e explained by Colette's efforts to create a new Vivien chapte r in Le Pur et I'impur to condemning image of the woman writer for herself. Her portrait the poet' s impur e lifestyle , an d barel y mention s of Vivie n detour s he r reader s from a seriou s Vivien's poetr y a t all , except t o dismis s i t a s a n consideration of Vivien's poetry to focus instead on outdated imitatio n of Baudelaire. Colette admit s the impur e aspect s o f th e poet' s lifestyle . B y that she finds it refreshing that Vivien did not talk contrast, Colett e emerge s o n th e sid e o f purity, shop with her and hid her work in progress under a having learne d t o incorporat e Sido' s lesso n o n pillow i f anyon e interrupte d he r whil e writing . abstinence an d silence into her writing after all . Colette approved of Vivien's habit of concealing the My searc h fo r purit y end s then , wher e books sh e gav e t o friend s i n basket s o f frui t o r Colette literally began, with Sido. Although "le pur" flowers. Sh e does make a point of mentioning th e has no t yielde d u p it s secrets , I believ e tha t th e many letter s Vivie n wrot e t o he r only t o criticiz e images i n Colette's crystal ball hav e allowe d us a them for their childish tone which she claims would glimpse o f ho w sh e manipulate s th e "pur " an d strike her readers as insincere if she published them "impur" in relation to women poets in order to forge (3: 598) . Colett e shape s he r reader' s sympathie s a new and positive identity for herself as a woman against Vivie n b y labelin g he r immatur e an d writer. Not only is she redeeming herself in the eyes insincere, an d then b y contrastin g Vivien' s frank of her beloved Sido, but she is actively fostering her talk abou t sexua l pleasur e wit h he r sa d an d career b y distancin g hersel f from th e negativ e inauthentic poetry "ou les 'amies' revent et pleurent stereotypes o f woma n writers , an d especiall y autant qu'elles s'y enlacent." Sh e also mentions th e "poetesses feminines" that existed at the turn of the foreign qualit y o f Vivien' s poeti c mete r whic h century to create a new place for herself as a writer betrays her British origins (3: 606). that defie d conventiona l categories . Sh e was , i n If Colett e speak s s o littl e o f Vivien th e effect, alterin g the rules of literary play, according writer, it is because, sh e admits, she only began to to Elaine Marks, "by refusing to abide by the rule s find Vivie n interestin g after sh e was able to forge t that govern the production of accepted and expected that Vivien wa s a poet: "Quan d commencais-je d e meanings" ("Celebrating Colette" x). As admirable pouvoir oublie r qu e Rene e Vivie n etai t poete , as this was for later generations of women writers, c'est-a-dire d e lui t&noigner un interet veritable?" one of the unfortunat e consequence s o f Colette's (3: 602) . Colette's comments betra y he r infamou s personal agend a wa s tha t i t kep t he r from anti-intellectualism discusse d earlier , an d partl y appreciating what sh e had in common with othe r explain he r ambivalenc e abou t bein g labele d a women writer s suc h a s Rene e Vivien , wh o als o femme de lettres, an d th e difficult y sh e ha d wanted to break free of gender stereotypes an d have appreciating th e seriou s literar y sid e o f a n their wor k take n seriously . Th e shadow y an d intellectual write r suc h a s Rene e Vivien . Afte r ambiguous images in the depths of Colette's crystal reading Colette' s portrait o f Vivien, i t i s hard t o ball did not warn her that the "difference " she was believe tha t he r poetr y wa s acclaime d by man y cultivating could only be measured a t the expens e well-known critic s who counte d Vivien' s verse s of other women, and in so doing, she was actually among some of the "purest" ever written in French. perpetuating some of the stereotypes sh e had hoped Moreover, the modest attitude toward her work that to escape . Colette records doe s no t hint a t how hardworking and seriou s Vivie n wa s abou t he r literar y craft . Charles-Brun, Vivien's Greek professor and literary assistant, onc e commente d tha t i t wa s Vivien' s perfectionism tha t eventuall y kille d her . H e witnessed he r tireles s attentio n t o detai l a s sh e wrote an d rewrot e he r poems , notin g "J *ai de s manuscrits d'elle ou sa main a propose sept ou huit variantes, entre lesquelles nous avons choisi" (53). The discrepanc y betwee n th e poe t Charles-Brun admired and the on e Colette would have u s know ENDNOTES

1. When discussing Sido, it must be understood that w e are talking about the character of Colette's mother as she is constructed in Colette's texts, and not the actual person.

2. Helene Picard's poetry includes La Feuille morte (1903) , L'Instant etemel (1907) which was awarded a prize b y the Academie Francaise, Les Fresques (1908), Nous n'irons plus au bois, souvenirs d'enfance (1911), Les Lauriers sont coupes (1913) , Rameaux (1918), Province et capucines (1920), an d Pour un mauvais garcon (1927). She also wrote a travel journal and a novel, Sabbat (1923), which Colette included in her "Collection Colette" published by Ferenczi. Picard was named "poete-laureate" b y the Femina jury in 1904 , and she also received a Prix Botta for her work as a whole in 1920, an d a Prix de la Renaissance in 192 8 for Pour un mauvais gargon.

3. For a discussion of the feminine label applied by critics to Noailles's poetry, see Tama Lea Engelking, "Anna de Noailles Oui et Non: The Countess, the Critics and lapoesie feminine," Women's Studies 23 (1994) : 95-110 .

4. This is a stylistic device characteristic of Colette's writing. See Elaine Harris's analysis of her style, especially pp. 216-217 wher e she concludes "II nou s semble qu'elle est passee-mattre dan s 1'ar t de la non-definition, elle definit I'amour en decrivant ce qu'il n'est pas."

5. For information on Rene e Vivien's life, see Jean-Paul Goujon's biography Tes Blessures sont plus douces que leurs caresses; Vie de Renee Vivien (Paris : Regine Deforges, 1986) . Goujon has also edited a volume of Vivien's collected poems based on the 193 4 tex t published b y Lemerre : Oeuvre poetique complete de Renee Vivien (1877-1910), ed . an d preface Jean-Paul Goujo n (Paris: Regine Deforges, 1986) . This volume contains Etudes et preludes (1901), Cendres et poussieres (1902), Evocations (1903), Sapho (1903), La Venus des aveugles (1904), Les Kitharedes (1904), A I'heure des mains jointes (1906), Sillages (1908), Flambeaux eteints (1907), Dans un coin de violettes (1910), Le vent des vaisseaux (1910), Haillons (1910) . In addition to he r poetry, Vivien published one novel, tw o collections of prose poems, a collection of short stories, and a biography of Anne Bolyn which she lef t unfinished.

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